Fort Carson, Colo. -- The new battalion Satellite Communications Operations Center, or BSOC, at Fort Carson is now fully operational.
The center will operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year providing Tier 1 support to the five Wideband Satellite Operations Centers located globally. Soldiers working in one of the WSOCs serve as controllers of the Defense Satellite Communications System, or DSCS, and Wideband Global Satellite-Communication, or WGS, satellite constellations. This means they command communications payload on these satellites and provide user control.
The BSOC is operated and staffed by the 53rd Signal Battalion, U.S. Army Satellite Operations Brigade.
"The BSOC will assist the WSOCs in their day-to-day mission as well as consolidate and streamline reporting to the battalion," said Staff Sgt. Matthew Felker, BSOC noncommissioned officer in charge.
The U.S. Army Satellite Operations Brigade, formerly known as Task Force Eagle, was activated in 2019 to consolidate the Army's satellite communication mission and reduce redundancy and bureaucracy in those operations.
"One noticeable benefit of the BSOC is the consolidation of information that used to come from multiple reports," said Felker. "Now everyone has the same common operating picture."
The BSOC will also serve as a helpdesk for WSOCs located in Maryland, Germany, Hawaii and Okinawa, Japan.
"The Soldiers (working) in BSOC have a lot of experience and technical knowledge about satellite control," said Felker. "We can see what they are doing and offer suggestions to improve or assist them when they are having issues."
The BSOC and the U.S. Army Satellite Operations Brigade will serve as the Army's single point of contact for satellite operations and Regional Satellite Communications Support Centers that plan satellite access requests, said Col. Tonri Brown, brigade commander.
"Our mission is to ensure seamless SATCOM support to the warfighter, and ensure unity of command," said Brown.
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